No matter the size of your garden you can create your own private oasis.

With more people living in apartments and subdivided blocks, not everybody has the luxury of a big back yard.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t have your little piece of sanctuary.  Having a space to go to outside your house walls, out into the landscape, no matter how big or small can be just the retreat you are looking for this autumn.

By investing some time into your outdoor area you can effectively extend your living space. Some elements to focus on are:

Lighting: essential for illuminating an outdoor space and enabling you to use your space both day and night.

Features: water features can add to the ambiance and relaxation.

Use things with a double feature, ie build seating into a retaining wall.

Quality decking or paving can turn your area from a tired garden into a polished space.

Perhaps you might like to have a theme, for example a Moroccan theme using bright colours and tiles and cushions giving an exotic look to your space. The Balinese theme is also popular in Australian gardens using lush green foliage, tropical plants and vibrant flowers together with traditional stone, wood and natural materials.

In this particular case the owner has spent years visiting Bali and liked their lifestyle of living outdoors and wanted to recreate that at his home. So by combining some Balinese elements along with some Australian natives and some lush greenery a true urban oasis was created.

The overall effect is both exotic and very private. One of the benefits of the garden is that it does not require much maintenance.

The Balinese theme came to the fore when the hand carved granite statues from Ubud in Bali were placed within the garden among patches of plantings such as a crepe myrtle, some stunning native violets and the gorgeous purple lirope. Also in the surrounds are yellow and white magnolia trees and the bamboo clumping provides a lush green wall creating a private inner city oasis.

Spot lighting is also useful in the Balinese garden as it can be used to highlight the various artefacts through the garden and also any other features throughout the garden.

With the autumn weather upon us more of us are yearning to be outside, so for some inspiration why not call a Normark designer today to see how we can transform your area into a hidden private oasis for you and your family.

Planting Bulbs in Autumn

If you haven’t tried your hand at planting bulbs, why not try this autumn and add some colour to your garden.

Bulbs are guaranteed to flower at least once and from the bulb we can see the most beautiful flowers bloom such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, freesias, bluebells and snowdrops. They are tough, simple to grow and tolerant of the many climatic conditions throughout Australia.

You can plant bulbs in containers for your balcony or courtyard, or plant them straight into the garden. With an amazing selection to choose from you can easily add some splashes of colour to your garden this spring.

Some things to remember when planting bulbs:

The best time to plant for most bulbs is between March and May – tulips in May and hyacinths in March/April. However with so many different varieties it is best to check with each specific type.

When buying bulbs, reject any that are soft or showing signs of mould. Small bulbs may not flower in their first year so look for the big fat and firm bulbs.Planting depth is also important, as every bulb is a different size. The rule of thumb is to plant each bulb twice as deep as the bulb is wide and ensure that you plant with the neck up and the roots down the bottom. The only exception is with Ranunculus. Just ensure you don’t plant too deep as they may fail to flower.

Please note that many summer flowering bulbs have different requirements, so ask for instructions if in doubt.

To plant, dig the soil over to get rid of any weeds. Scatter complete fertiliser.

Most bulbs need a period of dry conditions, but some only thrive in moist soils so pick accordingly.

To make sure you don’t disturb your bulbs by trying to plant something in the same spot, mark where and what you have planted.

When your bulbs have finished flowering, cut back the flower stalks to ground level. Let the foliage of your flowering bulbs dieback naturally. Resist the temptation to cut it back while still green, but floppy. The bulb needs this time to photosynthesize and make food reserves to produce next year’s flowers.

Lemonade Scones

These Lemonade Scones are fabulously easy to make and you only need a few ingredients. This is a fail proof recipe where you can whip up these scrumptious scones and have them ready to eat in half an hour.

Ingredients

Method

Set the oven at 210 degrees, get a baking tin used for brownies and slices and line it with baking paper. (By baking them in this tin it ensures they will be close together and make for softer scones.)

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the cream and lemonade.

Mix together to form a soft dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly and with a rolling pin roll out the mixture till it is approx. 3cm in height. Get a round cutter approx. 5cm in diameter and cut out scones and place into the lined baking tin, keeping them close together. Brush milk over the top of each scone.

Place the tray in the oven and cook for approx. 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with jam and cream.

Are you involved in a family business? 

Family Business Australia is holding their annual state conference on 20^th April 2012. This is an opportunity to update yourself with professional and technical information specifically related to families in business and meet with likeminded family business owners, operators and their families.

Visit this link to find out more http://peak.fambiz.org.au/documents/item/413

Coburg Print Works

Coburg Printworks is a design and print company, who supplies a full range of commercial printing to a vast range of trade houses, corporate sector, professional practices, industrial based companies and government departments. Operating for the past 32 years with the same owner they offer highly trained, professional staff committed to supplying a full range of design work backed up with full automotive offset and digital printing. Offering all kinds of printing starting from a simple business card up to a hard cased bound annual report. 100% Australian owned, committed to purchasing where possible both paper and print commodities from Australian manufacturers/suppliers who are actively interested in the environment and the wider community we live in.

Thank you to Normark Sponsors…

WeBlow: www.weblow.com.au    www.totaleden.com.au     www.coburgprintworks.com.au